Kiefer Sutherland Biography
Summary
"Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland" (born December 21, 1966) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning television and film actor, well known for his lead role of Jack Bauer on the television series "24". Sutherland also owns a recording studio and record label, called Ironworks.
Biography
Early life
Sutherland was born in London, England, the son of Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas, both of whom are successful Canadian actors. He has Scottish ancestry from both parents and is the grandson of Canadian statesman Tommy Douglas. Sutherland and his twin sister, Rachel, were born in London (in Saint Mary's Hospital, Paddington) while his parents were working there. As a result, through the "jus soli" and the "jus sanguinis", he holds both a Canadian passport and a British passport with certificate of Right to Abode.
His family moved to Los Angeles, California, shortly afterwards, but his parents eventually divorced in 1970. In 1975, Sutherland moved with his mother to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he attended high school at St. Andrew's College, Martingrove Collegiate Institute, Harbord Collegiate Institute and Malvern Collegiate Institute. He also spent a semester at Regina Mundi College in London, Ontario, Canada and attended Crescent Town Elementary School and St. Clair Junior High School in East York, Ontario. He speaks fluent English and French.
Career
As of 2006, Sutherland has appeared in over fifty films, most notably "The Lost Boys", "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me", "A Few Good Men", "Flatliners", "Young Guns", "The Vanishing", "The Three Musketeers", "Stand by Me", "Dark City", and "A Time To Kill" as well as "The Sentinel". Since 2001, Sutherland is most widely associated with the role of Jack Bauer, on the critically acclaimed television series "24". After being nominated four times for the 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series' Primetime Emmy Award, Sutherland won the award in 2006 for his role in "24"s fifth season. His father, Donald, was also an Emmy winner; he won an Emmy award for his role in "Citizen X" in 1996. In the opening skit of the 2006 Primetime Emmy Awards, Sutherland made an appearance as his "24" character, Jack Bauer. He was also nominated for Best actor in a Drama Television Series in the 2007 Golden Globe Awards for "24".
Sutherland constantly emphasizes that the show is merely 'entertainment.' Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan visited the set of "24" in February 2007 to urge the show's makers to reduce the number of torture scenes and Sutherland accepted an invitation from the U.S. military to tell West Point cadets it is wrong to torture prisoners.
In 2005, Sutherland was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, where both of his parents have also been inducted. Sutherland was also the first "Inside the Actors Studio" guest to be the child of a former guest; his father, Donald, appeared on the show in 1998. Sutherland was featured on the cover of the April 2006 edition of "Rolling Stone", in an article entitled 'Alone in the Dark with Kiefer Sutherland'. The article opened up with Sutherland revealing his interest to be killed off in "24". However, he had also stated, 'Don't get me wrong. I love what I do.' It also revealed that he devotes 10 months a year working on "24".
He has starred in Japanese commercials for Calorie Mate, performing a parody of his Jack Bauer character. Sutherland also provides voiceovers for the current ad campaign for the Ford Motor Company of Canada. These advertisements are thematically of the comedy genre. In mid-2006, he voiced the Apple Computer advertisement announcing the inclusion of Intel chips in their Macintosh computer line. He also voices the introduction to NHL games on the Versus network in the U.S. Recently, he has starred in Brazilian TV commercials for Citroën C4 sedan.
Sutherland will executive produce the two-hour pilot of "Phenomenon". Maggie Murphy will also be an executive producer for the show. The Sci Fi Channel ordered a script to be written. The show revolves around a mysterious young female prodigy who leads a crack
team of experts in investigating odd and supernatural anomalies of nature.
Personal life
Several episodes of "24" have allegedly been rewritten to work around minor injuries Sutherland sustained when partying. In an interview with the London "Daily Telegraph", Sutherland said, 'I can't deny half the stuff that's been written about me has been true. I've done some stupid things. You have to take responsibility, go, 'That was embarrassing,' and move forward as best you can.'
During the autumn of 2001, Sutherland unintentionally interrupted the filming of the premiere episode of an online series titled "The Lonely Island". In the episode 'White Power', the main characters develop an addiction to teeth whitener, and eventually mug an old woman to facilitate their addiction. Sutherland, driving by at the time, believed the mugging was real and jumped out of his car to intervene. A small portion of Sutherland's appearance is displayed after the credits, though the portion is only Kiefer stopping his car and looking at them. This anecdote was recounted by Andy Samberg.
True to his grandfather's legacy, Sutherland is an active member of the Canadian New Democratic Party, and has appeared from time to time in NDP advertisements.
He has one daughter, Sarah Jude, born in 1988, along with a stepdaughter, Michelle Kath, from his first marriage to Camelia Kath, daughter of Chicago guitarist/singer Terry Kath. Sutherland's marriage to Camelia lasted from September 12, 1987 - 1990. In 2006, Sutherland became a grandfather when Michelle gave birth to a son, Hamish. Michelle, born in 1976, is just ten years younger than Sutherland. On June 29, 1996, he married Kelly Winn. They divorced in 2004. He has two stepsons from this marriage, named Timothy Daily and Julian Daily.
Sutherland is a well-known collector of many guitars, a majority of which are Gibson Les Pauls. Recently, the Gibson Custom shop has released a Kiefer Sutherland signature guitar, the KS-336, as part of their 'Inspired By' series.
Sutherland was arrested early September 25, 2007 on misdemeanor drunk driving charges (his second time since another incident in 2004) after failing a field sobriety test. He was pulled over at around 1:10 a.m. in West Los Angeles, where he tested over the state's legal blood alcohol limit and later released on $25,000 bail.
On October 9th, 2007 Kiefer pled no contest to the DUI charge and agreed to complete the 48 day jail sentence in December 2007, including Christmas. He has opted to spend 18 days in jail during 24's winter break in late December and early January. Once production wraps on the show's seventh season, Sutherland will return to the pen for an additional 30 days. In fact, Sutherland reportedly opted for more jail time rather than see the production of 24 disrupted.
Filmography
Sutherland has directed three and appeared in 71 films. Some of them are listed below.
Acting
"Max Dugan Returns" (1983) as Bill
"The Bay Boy" (1984)1
"Brotherhood of Justice" (1986)
"Trapped in Silence" (1986) (TV) as Kevin Richter
"Stand By Me" (1986) as Ace
"At Close Range" (1986) as Tim
"Crazy Moon" (1987) as Brooks
"Promised Land" (1987) as Danny
"The Lost Boys" (1987) playing the leading vampire (David) in Santa Cruz, California in the United States
"Bright Lights, Big City" (1988) as Tad Allagash
"Young Guns" (1988) as Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock
"1969" (1988), as Scott Denny
"Renegades" (1989)
"Young Guns II" (1990) as Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock
"Flatliners" (1990)
"The Nutcracker Prince" (1990), as the Nutcracker Prince
"Flashback" (1990) as John Buckner
"Article 99" (1992) as Dr. Peter Morgan
"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" (1992) as Sam Stanley
"A Few Good Men" (1992) as Lieutenant Jonathan James Kendrick
"Last Light" (1993) as Denver Bayliss
"The Three Musketeers" (1993) as Athos
"The Vanishing" (1993) as Jeff Harriman
"The Cowboy Way" (1994) as Sonny Gilstrap
"Eye for an Eye" (1996)
"Freeway" (1996) as Bob Wolverton
"A Time to Kill" (1996) as Freddie Lee Cobb²
"Armitage III: Poly-Matrix" (1997) as Ross Sylibus
"Truth or Consequences, N.M." (1997)
"Dark City" (1998), as Dr. Daniel Schreber
"A Soldier's Sweetheart" (1998) as Rat Kiley
"Break Up" (1998) as John Box
"Ground Control" (1998) as Jack Harris
"Eye of the Killer" (1999), as Detective Michael Hayden
"After Alice" (1999), as Mickey Hayden
"Beat" (2000) as William S. Burroughs
"Woman Wanted" (2000) as Wendell Goddard³
"Picking Up the Pieces" (2000) as Bobo
"The Right Temptation" (2000) as Michael Farrow-Smith
"Cowboy Up" (2001) as Hank Braxton
"To End All Wars" (2001) as Lt. Jim Reardon
"Dead Heat" (2002) as Phally
"Desert Saints" (2002) as Arthur Banks
"Behind the Red Door" (2002) as Roy
"Phone Booth" (2002), as the nameless sniper
"The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration" (2003), Bron (Littlefoot's Father) (voice)
" Paradise Found" (2003), as Paul Gauguin
"Taking Lives" (2004), as Hart
"The Flight That Fought Back" (2005)(TV), as the Narrator
"River Queen" (2005) as Doyle
"I Trust You To Kill Me" (2006) as himself
"The Sentinel" (2006), as David Breckinridge
"The Wild" (2006) as Samson the Lion (voice)
"24" (2001-) (TV) as Jack Bauer
"The Simpsons" (2006-7) (TV), as the Colonel in 'G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)'; as Jack Bauer in '24 Minutes'
"Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight" (2007) as Raistlin Majere (voice)
"24" (2008), as Jack Bauer
"Mirrors" (production to begin in 2007)
"Notes:"
1 "The Bay Boy" was Sutherland's first film role, for which he was nominated for the Genie Award for best actor.
² Appeared alongside his father, Donald Sutherland
³ Appeared alongside his mother, Shirley Douglas
Directing
"Last Light" (1993)
"Truth or Consequences, N.M." (1997)
"Woman Wanted" (2000)
Kiefer Sutherland also recently allowed for one of his personal artworks to be cover art for Atlanta's Local radio station 99x's 'Live X 12', which features songs from famous bands played in small intimate shows.
Awards and nominations
;DVD Exclusive Awards
2003: nominated for best actor -- "Dead Heat"
;Emmy Awards
2007: nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2006: "won for Outstanding Drama Series" -- "24"
2006: "won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" -- "24"
2005: nominated for Outstanding Drama Series -- "24"
2005: nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2004: nominated for Outstanding Drama Series -- "24"
2004: nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2003: nominated for Outstanding Drama Series -- "24"
2003: nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2002: nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
;Genie Awards
1985: nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role -- "The Bay Boy"
;Golden Globe Awards
2007: nominated for Best Performance by an actor in a drama television series -- "24"
2006: nominated for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2004: nominated for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2003: nominated for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2002: "won for Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Series" -- "24"
;Monte-Carlo TV Festival
2006: "won for Best International Producer" -- "24"
2006: "won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" -- "24"
;MTV Movie Awards
2004: nominated for Best Villain -- "Phone Booth"
1997: nominated for Best Villain -- "A Time to Kill"
;People's Choice Awards
2006: nominated for favorite male star -- "24"
;Satellite Awards
2003: "won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Series", Drama -- "24"
2002: "won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Series", Drama -- "24"
;Screen Actor Guild Awards
2006: "won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series" -- "24"
2005: nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2005: nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series -- "24"
2004: "won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series" -- "24"
2003: nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series -- "24"
2003: nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series -- "24"
;Slamdunk Film Festival
2000: "won for Best Feature Film" -- "Woman Wanted"
;Teen Choice Awards
2006: nominated for Choice TV Actor - Drama/Action Adventure -- "24"
;Television Critics Association Awards
2006: nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Drama -- "24"
2005: nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama -- "24"
2004: nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama -- "24"
2003: nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama -- "24"
2002: nominated for Individual Achievement in Drama -- "24"
;Western Heritage Awards
1989: "won Theatrical Motion Picture" -- "Young Guns"
External links
('Getting Dirty in Real Time,' 2005 "American Spectator" article)
(Kiefer Sutherland Public Service Announcement on Internet Safety)
(Kiefer Sutherland in Argentine commercial of Citroën C4)
Interviews and articles
(... more) Men's Vogue profile]
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Kiefer Sutherland.
